Why I think the BMI is crap

My BMI is 30.5, which puts me in the obese category. Fine whatevs. Apparently that puts me at a higher risk of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, gall bladder disease, and some cancers. But that's not the whole story is it? How about waist to hip ratio? Mine is 0.7, which puts me at a "low risk" for all the above health problems. I have a body fat percentage of 31.7%, which puts me in the "acceptable" range, not "obese".

Now lets go beyond these arbitrary measurements and talk about lifestyle - well I smoke sometimes, although I'm constantly trying to quit, this time I'm rather successful actually, so hopefully it will stick so we'll say I lose 10pts there. I eat a vegetarian diet full of vegetables, fruits, beans, whole grains, etc., so that's very good, add 10 pts. I get a decent amount of exercise with at least 2 days a week with an hour or more of good sweaty cardio and everyday with some moderate cardio everyday, so lets add 10 pts.

Lets look at family history here too, my mother and my maternal grandmother had gynecological cancers (which have been treated and both are "cured" so to speak). My paternal grandmother died of lymphoma (sp?) when she was in her 60's, so that's not good. I have a family history of thyroid disease, which is no good. My father and my paternal grandfather both have/had GERD, which puts you at risk for throat cancer, no good. As far as I know, heart problems do not run in my family. My mother has high cholesterol these days because of side effects of some of the anti-cancer meds she takes. My maternal grandmother suffers from high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes, but she's the only one I know of.

BMI is just a number, the real way to measure someone's health take more into account than height vs. weight.